British regimental number research. First World War research. Military research. British Army regiments. Regimental numbering sequences between 1881 and 1918. Regimental number series. Other rank prisoners of war 1914.

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8 July 2013

Hertfordshire was not a large enough county to sustain regular battalions
but it did have a single Territorial Force battalion which was formed on 1st
April 1908 as the Hertfordshire Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment and which
became the 1st Battalion, Hertfordshire regiment the following year.
The distribution of companies and drill stations was as follows:

HQ

HertfordA Company
Hertford; drill stations at Watton, Hatfield and BerkhamstedB Company
St Albans; drill stations at London Colney and HarpendenC Company
Bishops Stortford; drill stations at Sawbridgeworth, Braughing, Widford,
Ware and WadesmillD Company
Watford; drill station at Chorley WoodE Company
Royston; drill stations at Letchworth, Baldock and AshwellF Company
Hemel Hempstead; drill stations at Great Berkhamsted, Ashridge, Tring and
Ivinghoe.G Company

640 joined on 28th April 1908
1196 joined on 11th May 1909
1359 joined on 14th February 1910
1598 joined on 13th January1911
1786 joined on 26th January 1912
2092 joined on 27th January 1913
2630 joined on 1st January 1914
2709 joined on 5th September 1914

3697 joined on 4th November 1914
4223 joined on 13th December 1914
4479 joined on 11th January 1915
4660 joined on 22nd February 1915
4762 joined on 22nd March 1915
4853 joined on 19th April 1915
4967 joined on 24th May 1915
5114 joined on 2nd June 1915
5339 joined on 1st July 1915
5433 joined on 3rd August 1915
5548 joined on 17th September 1915
5573 joined on 2nd October 1915
5689 joined on 1st November 1915

When the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917, men from the 1st Hertfordshire Regiment were issued numbers in the range 265001 to 290000, the
lowest number being issued to the man with the lowest number from the first
series.

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29 January 2013

This post will look at numbering in the 10th (Prince of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars between 1881 and 1905. The cavalry regiments were unaffected by Cardwell's Army reforms; however, in keeping with the parameters of this blog, my starting point is 1881.

The database and information on this blog have been compiled as a result of studying service records in WO 97 (British Army pensions to 1913), WO 363 (WW1 service records) and WO 364 (WW1 pension records). All of these series are now online. Click on the links for further information.

1867 joined on 21st March 1881

1985 joined on 9th May 1882

2134 joined on 8th May 1883

2149 joined on 27th September 1884

2251 joined on 13th February 1885

2370 joined on 2nd March1886

2547 joined on 25th April 1887

2702 joined on 27th September 1888

2732 joined on 20th April 1889

2889 joined on 6th October 1890

3005 joined on 26th August 1891

3156 joined on 29th February 1892

3268 joined on 5th January 1893

3342 joined on 8th January 1894

3464 joined on 8th January 1895

3684 joined on 21st February1896

3727 joined on 13th January 1897

3861 joined on 14th February1898

4090 joined on 5th May 1899

4347 joined on 9th January 1900

4949 joined on 16th January 1901

5318 joined on 2nd April 1902

5410 joined on 5th January 1903

5466 joined on 31st August 1904

5502 joined on 6th September 1905

In December 1906, Army Order 289 changed the numbering for cavalry of the line. Prior to this, all cavalry regiments had numbered individually by regiments. Now, line cavalry and household cavalry were separated; each of the three line cavalry corps – dragoons, hussars, and lancers – beginning a new number series which started at 1 and was to extend to 49,999.

What this meant for the 10th Hussars was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the all of the Hussars regiments:

4 January 2013

"The regular battalions, that is, the battalions populated by career soldiers,
operate a single regimental number sequence. A new recruit is given his number
at the Regimental Depot, spends up to three months training at the Depot and is then
posted to the 1st Battalion which is stationed in the UK. After 18 months to two
years he is then posted to the 2nd Battalion which is serving overseas in India.
His posting from the Depot to the 1st Battalion, and then from the 1st Battalion
to the 2nd Battalion does not affect his regimental number which remains
unchanged."

Here's an example of what I meant - and you'll find similar examples awash in WO 97, WO 363 and WO 364.

Michael Hooper joined the Royal Dublin Fusiliers on 8th Jun 1894 and was given the regimental number 5089. He was posted to the Depot and remained there until posted to the Home Battalion (in this case, the 1st Battalion) on the 23rd August 1894. He remained with the 1st Battalion, which was then stationed in Sheffield, until the 10th February 1896 when he was posted to the overseas battalion, the 2nd Battalion. This battalion would have been stationed in Quetta when Michael Hooper joined it and his service record notes that he remained with the 2nd Battalion until September 1902 when he was posted back to the regimental Depot. In the intervening years, Hooper would have seen service in Bombay, Natal and South Africa, the battalion moving back to Ireland in 1902 (and becoming the Home Battalion) whilst the 1st Battalion, already overseas in South Africa as a result of the Boer War, moved on to Crete and Malta and took up the role of the overseas battalion.

Michael Hooper was transferred to the Army Reserve in October 1902 and on completing this period of reserve service elected to join Section D Reserve for a further four years. He was finally discharged from Section D Reserve on the 7th June 1910.

At no point during his army career, did Michael Hooper's number change. Why would it? He joined as a regularsoldier and moved freely between the two battalions during his army career. Whilst on the reserve, had he been recalled to the Colours, he would have retained his service number. However, from the moment he was discharged in 1910, his number would also have been discarded. Even if he walked around the block and decided to re-enlist, that number would not have been re-issued to him.

The image from Michael Hooper's service record in WO 363 (above) is Crown Copyright and reproduced by courtesy of the National Archives. Interestingly, the same papers (but beautifully preserved) exist in WO 97, so here's another version of the same document:

﻿

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This may be preaching to the converted, but it's a new year and probably time for a reminder that one number series doesn't fit all.

On this blog I have posted pointers to enlistment dates for many British Army regiments and battalions within those regiments. All of the 69 Infantry of the Line regiments are covered to some degree - mostly number sequences from 1881 to 1914. You'll find the five Foot Guards regiments represented here; also the majority of the Cavalry of the Line; some Special Reserve and Extra Reserve battalions, Territorial Force Battalions and Pals battalions. What is shown on these various posts is simply a snapshot of enlistment dates and numbers, a snapshot which will hopefully assist researchers in narrowing down a likely enlistment date for a soldier based on his number.

Do bear in mind though that a typical county regiment would have employed several different numbering sequences for the men in its battalions. Let's look at the hypothetical Blankshire Regiment and take August 1910 as our starting point.

The regular battalions, that is, the battalions populated by career soldiers, operate a single regimental number sequence. A new recruit is given his number at the Regimental Depot, spends up to three months training at the Depot and is then posted to the 1st Battalion which is stationed in the UK. After 18 months to two years he is then posted to the 2nd Battalion which is serving overseas in India. His posting from the Depot to the 1st Battalion, and then from the 1st Battalion to the 2nd Battalion does not affect his regimental number which remains unchanged.

Also administered from the Regimental Depot are those men who have joined the Special Reserve and Extra Reserve. These battalions are a legacy of the Militia which was disbanded in 1908 and each of these battalions has its own numbering sequence.

So the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion , the Blankshire Regiment was, prior to April 1908, the 3rd Militia Battalion whilst the 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion was, prior to April 1908, the 4th Militia Battalion. This Blankshire Regiment only has a 3rd and 4th Battalion but some County Regiments only have one Special Reserve Battalion whilst across the sea in Ireland, the Irish County regiments typically have one Special Reserve Battalion and two Extra Reserve Battalions. Each battalion has its own numbering sequence.

In addition to the regular battalions and the Special/Extra Reserve Battalions, the Blankshire Regiment has four Territorial Force Battalions. Just as the Special/Extra Reserve Battalions trace their heritage back to the militia, so the Territorial Force, formed in April 1908, traces its origins back to the Volunteer Force. The 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th (Territorial Force) Battalions of the Blankshire Regiment were formerly the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Volunteer Battalions of the Blankshire Regiment. As Volunteer Force Battalions they operated their own regimental number sequences and now, as Territorial Force Battalions, they continue to operate their own number sequences.

So far then we have the following number sequences for the Blankshire Regiment:

Britain goes to war in 1914 and soon drafts for the 1st and 2nd Battalions are required. Men from the 3rd (Special Reserve) and 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalions are sent out to France to fill the gaps. They retain their Special Reserve and Extra Reserve Battalion numbers albeit there is often nothing in surviving documentation to distinguish these men’s numbers from the numbers of the regular soldiers. Some medal index cards may prefix these SR and ER men’s numbers with S/ (for Special Reserve) or 3/ or 4/ (to designate their battalion) but this is by no means a uniform practice.

Take a hypothetical example of 3456 John Smith who was KIA with the 1st Blankshire Regiment on 1st December 1914. John Smith was only 20 when he was killed and yet looking at the number sequence posted on this blog for the 1st Blankshires, it suggests that 3456 was issued between January 1894 and January 1895 – when John was 10 years old. How can that be? The answer is almost certainly that John Smith enlisted with the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion in 1912. His number fits the sequence being used by the 3rd Battalion and this in turn suggests that he joined the 3rd Battalion but was posted overseas to the 1st Battalion, retaining his 3rd Battalion number.

I will continue to post sequences on this blog – there are many, many more to go – but in the meantime, don’t be puzzled if, on the face of it, a man’s regimental number and the suggested joining date parameters that I have posted, don’t at first appear to make much sense. Don't rule out enlistment in the Special or Extra Reserve battalions.

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WW1 Medal Index Cards 1914-1920First World War campaign medal entitlement details for close to 5 million men. You'll find ALL of a man's regimental numbers indexed here. Ancestry's search is limited to the last number a man was issued with; a serious failing.

The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was born on 1st July 1881. The 1st Battalion was created out of the old 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fus...

Regimental Numbers

When did my relative enlist? When did my grandfather join up? On what date did he join his regiment?

A man's regimental number can tell you a lot about when he joined and even which battalion he joined. Note however, that there is a distinction between "enlisted" and "joined".

A man would generally enlist once - and be given a regimental number - or army number - on joining his regiment. If he joined another regiment he would be given a different number.

He could even be given a different number if he joined another battalion of the same regiment. In all probability this number would not be unique and could be repeated in many battalions and regiments throughout the British Army.

This blog aims to guide the researcher through the maze of regimental numbers issued by the British Army between 1881 and 1918.

The Army Service Numbers Database

The Army Service Numbers database is a database of British Army regimental numbers. This has been compiled from original sources, principally WO 363, WO 364, WO 96, WO 97 and WO 372 at the National Archives in London.

The database covers most units of the British Army which issued regimental numbers between the years 1881 and 1918: Infantry Regiments, Cavalry and Yeomanry, Royal Artillery and Royal Army Medical Corps.

What you will find on this blog is data from a far larger data set - generally one number per year up until 1914 and then one number per month from August 1914 onwards.

As general rules:

1. Army Service Numbers for regular battalions are uncomplicated and largely sequential up until 1914.

2. Numbering in the British Army becomes more complicated from December 1915.